The Effect of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Working Memory Among Female Students of Bingham University, Nigeria

Abstract

Researches have showed that participation in a physical activity is associated with increased performance across a variety of tasks involving attention, cognition, and memory. The present study aimed at investigating the effects of aerobic exercise on working memory in non-athletic female students of Bingham University. A total of 53 participants who completed the physical activity readiness questionnaire (PAR-Q) were considered for this study. The study was conducted in three days, with day 1 being the baseline testing. Participants completed an N-back working memory task before the start of aerobic exercise. They were then required to perform an aerobic exercise on the treadmill for 10 min; and after which, were made to perform the N-back working memory task again. The same procedure was carried out on days 2 and 3. All data were analysed using analysis of variance at p<0.05. A significant (p<0.001) increase in total false alarm was observed in subjects after exercise and on days 2 and 3 compared to the first day before exercise. There was significant decrease in reaction time after the exercise, and on days 2 and 3 of the study as compared to the first day at p<0.001. This study has shown that acute aerobic exercise improved working memory in the female students’ population.